It is known that in densely-populated cities, such as Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, etc. police patrols using automobiles is of limited effectiveness because of the tendency for patrol cars to become bogged-down in traffic, thereby being unable to respond promptly to emergency situations. It should be apparent, therefore, that an emergency type vehicle which can carry passengers in an elevated position along the underside of the monorail located above a city street, or along a street surface, is particularly suited for police work. This is because, in its elevated position, the vehicle can travel at high rates of speed above the traffic and is, therefore, able to cover substantial distances in short periods of time. When the vehicle arrives at its intended location, it can be lowered to street level, either for riding along the street, or for stopping to load or unload passengers. Needless to say, such a vehicle used in densely populated metropolitan areas would increase police effectiveness with less manpower. Preferably, such a vehicle, if used for police patrol work, should be highly maneuverable and lightly armored for protection of the police and have as standard equipment a rotatable turret for observation and/or for use of fire arms, if necessary.
Such a vehicle as described above must be capable of accelerating and decelerating rapidly. Since acceleration and deceleration forces can create substantial stresses on various parts of the vehicle, the vehicle of the above type must be capable of withstanding such stresses in order to insure the safety of the passengers. Moreover, the vehicle must be capable of being raised and lowered rapidly, even while in motion.